September is a month that signals new beginnings. More than January, the dawn of September feels like the start of a new year for a variety of reasons.
Life settles into a routine. Vacations and lazy days of summer are over.Children and young people return to school. Days are shorter and nights are cooler. The arc of the sun changes making sunlight less intense.
From childhood, we are programmed to see September as a fresh start. Childhood recollections trigger new energy when we remember new school clothes, new books, new teachers, and the challenges of meeting performance expectations in a higher grade.
Such deep emotional programming makes September an excellent time to focus on new projects, or to finish projects that stopped during the summer.
September is also an excellent time to take stock of the year. A full quarter of 2016 remains to make progress on the goals and aspirations that were important back in January.
With my birthday falling in mid-September, there is added reason to treat September as a month for new beginnings. Virgos like serious projects and routines that usually begin in the fall.
New beginnings
After moving to a different community in June, September signals a time to re-engage in activities that I enjoy. I’m ready to join the book club at my local library, a writing group, and an afternoon knitting group. I’m considering whether to go to a nearby seniors centre that offers bridge games. I’m looking for a gym with a salt water pool and aqua fit programs. I’m also looking for a yoga studio with knowledgeable teachers.
Perhaps I’ll overfill the calendar with these activities but I’m ready for opportunities to meet like-minded people. Finding a social life in a new community takes time and effort. To find new friends, I’ll have to initiate contact and seek out people who have interests similar to mine. I’ll never replace the friendships I enjoyed in Markham and Toronto. I am confident, however, that new people will come into my life — people who will have an impact on my happiness.
I’m also ready to re-kindle friendships with a network of former colleagues who live here. We started our careers in a small children’s mental health centre as young, ambitious women and have maintained contact. Reconnecting and reviving these friendships will be a lovely adventure in itself.
A Project to Finish
September also means getting serious about settling in to our house and making it our home. There’s art to hang on the walls; there are pictures to sort and curate. There’s ‘fun’ shopping to do so that rooms get dressed up — some new linens, a few green plants, a couple of area carpets, and storage solutions for my hobby room.
Its time to make another ‘push’ to finish unpacking and sorting the remaining boxes that await attention. Enjoying summer at the cottage was a good excuse to avoid dealing with the last 20% of stuff that needs organizing.
Now that the weather is cooler, we can clear boxes out of the garage to make space for our cars and not for items that need unpacking. We can install shelving for tools and outdoor paraphernalia.
Excitement of New Beginnings
New beginnings are exciting because they usually relate to things you want. It may be a new skill, or a new habit, or finishing something important to you. It may simply be returning to comfortable or ‘normal’ routines that give predictability to the days and weeks ahead.
Thinking of September as a time of new beginnings, brings a sense of anticipation. It tweaks the happiness-producing energy of possibilities. Everything feels fresh. Seeing and appreciating the promise of a new beginning on that project, interest, or routine is like a re-boot or a new chapter of life. It’s an opportunity we don’t dare to waste!
That’s a nice way of looking at it, and I think on some level I have always thought of September as a time of new beginnings too!
Once summer has run its course, the cooler weather always brings a burst of energy. I’m ready to welcome the fall season. I hope it’s the same for you!
[…] A month of new beginnings. Some people equate September with January as a time of renewal. Many people find it easier to hit the reset button in September than in the mid-winter when New Year’s resolutions are popular but the malaise of holiday celebrations lingers. I find September is a good time to check the goals and aspirations set in January and re-commit. A new beginning this September is that my husband and I are joining a couples bridge club in our neighbourhood. Hopefully, we’ll be amicable partners! I wrote about new beginnings in a previous blog post just after we downsized and moved to a new city in 2016 summarized how September gives the energy for new beginnings. You can read these musings at https://www.postworksavvy.com/september-month-new-beginnings/ […]